Illuminated street-car sign



(No Model.)

W. H.0ARROLL.

ILLUMINATBD STREET GAB SIGN.

No. 531,905. Patented Jan 1, 1895.

GRAND s? r F/ vi WITNESSES: p INVENTOH BY M '6 I ATTORNEYS.

we NLIFHHS PETERS co. mom-mun. m'msmucrrom a c tion. To avoid this is part of the invention,

UNITED STATES iLLUMlNATED STREET-CAR SIGN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,905,

Application l d October 6. 1894.

dated January 1, 1895.

Serial No. 525,126. (No model.)

all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM II. CARROLL, of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Illuminated Street-Car Sign, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new andimproved illuminated street car sign, arranged to readily distinguish a car for adesired route, and to prevent persons from boarding the wrong car during the night.

The invention consists of an illuminated sign indicating the route oli the ear and arranged on the roof of the latter, and a reflector for the said sign to permit of conveniently reading the sign for a considerable distance ahead of the car.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims. i

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the ligures.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improvement as applied. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional front view of the improvement, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same, on the line 3--8 of Fig. 2.

In citiesandother places where a number of cars leave a terminal station to travel on different routes, or a murder of cars for different routes travel for a distance on the same track or tracks arranged one alongside the other before switching off to their special routes, it is diiiicnlt for persons to readily distin guish the car for a particular route during the night tin e,'and hence it frequently happens that persons board the wrong car, and are consequently carried in the wrong direcpresontly to be described in detail.

On the roof A of the car or other vehicle, and at the end thereof is secured a suitable base 13 supporting at one side a lamp casing containing a lamp of any approved construction, and provided at its outer side with a doo 0 for giving access to the interior of the L .sing and to the lamp contained therein.

On the inside of the door 0' is arrangeda reflector G for throwing the rays of light emanating from the lamp to the opposite side 0 and into and through an opening C formed in this side G This opening 0" registers with an apertured trunnion D rigidly secured to the outside of the side 0, see Fig. 2, and this trunnion D forms the bearing of the head E of a sign E having its other head E? formed with a solid trunnion E mounted to turn in suitable bearings arranged on a bracket F secured to the base B, and on the outer end of the said trunnion E is fastened a crank arm E adapted to be taken hold of by the operator in charge of the car, so as to turn the sign to bring the desired side into a forward or front position, as hereinafter more fully described. The sign E is made in the shape of a casing having heads E and E connected with each other by sides E made of glass or other transparent or-translucent material, and with such legends printed or otherwise formed thereon as indicate the route or routes of the car. As illustrated in the drawings, the sign E is provided with four sides E of which one is brought to the front by the operator turning the crank arm E into the proper position. The other three sides are protected from the rays of light from the lamp contained in the casing E, by a reflector G held stationary within the sign E, the said reflector being approximately U-shaped in cross section as is indicated in Fig. 3, and its open end is toward the side E held in front at the time.

The reflector G is provided with an apertnred head G loosely mounted on a boss E projecting from the inside of the head E and the said reflector is provided with a second apertured head G fitted onto the hollow trunnion D, and'forined with an inwardly extending lug Gr engaging a notch E in the said fixed trunnion D (see Fig. 3) so that the said reflector G is held in a fixed position, at the same time permitting the sign E to be revolved by the operator manipulating the crank arm E to bring the desired side E to the front. Now, it will be seen that the rays of light projected sidewise into the sign casing are reflected by the reflector G in a ;orward direction, so that the front side E of the sign E is illuminated, and consequently the le- 1 gend thereon is visible from a point a considerable distanceahoad ot the approaching car.

Now, it' will be seenthat by the arrangement described, the operator in charge of the car is at all times enabled to turn the sign E in such a position that the side indicating the route of the ear is visible to persons desiring to board the ear, and prevents parties from selecting the wrong car. It will further be seen that by the specially constructed reflector G, the remaining sides of the sign are not illuminated by the rays of light from the lamp in the casing C, so that mistakes are avoided.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In an illuminated sign for streetcars and the like, the combination of a casing adapted to contain a lamp and having an aperture in its Wall, a trunnion arranged adjacent to the lamp casing and having sponding with the aperture in the wall thereof, and a tubular casing rotatively mounted on said trunnions with its end adjacent thereto Open and adapted to-receive light through the aperture therein, and transparent signs a tubular sign having an aperture con-e mounted in the sides of said tubular casing, substantially as set forth.

2. In an illuminated sign, the combination of a casing adapted to receive a lamp and having an aperture in its wall, a slotted trunnion arranged adjacent to the lamp casing and having an aperture formed through it corresponding with the aperture in the wall thereof, a bracket aligned with the trunnion, one end provided with a head journ'aled in said bracket and its other end provided with a tubular head adapted to turn on the apertured trunnion, a trunnion located'at the opposite end of the tubular casing, and a reliector having ring-shaped heads formed at its ends encircling said trunnions, one of said heads having a lug which projects inwardly and is adapted to engage the slot in the apertnred trunnion.

WILLIAM H. (,ARRO LL. Witnesses:

THEO. G. Ilosrnn, C. SEDGWIOK. 

